Meeting Abstract

8.4  Tuesday, Jan. 4  Feline immunodeficiency virus in African lions: Clinical, immunological and coinfection patterns. JOLLES, AE*; BROUGHTON, H; GOVENDER, D; Oregon State University; Oregon State University; South African National Parks anna.jolles@oregonstate.edu

African lions (Panthera leo) are a flagship species for the conservation of African wildlife. Free-ranging lion populations have been impacted by several infectious diseases including canine distemper and babesiosis. A recent study of lions in Botswana reported an AIDS –like syndrome in lions infected with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), which had hitherto been assumed to have no clinical effects in lions and other wild felids. While immunosuppressive effects of FIV are probably less severe than in domestic cats, free-ranging lions are also exposed to many more infectious agents, magnifying the potential cost of weakened immunity. Individual and population-level coinfection consequences of FIV have not been assessed in African lions. We conducted a pilot study assessing clinical effects of FIV, as well as patterns of immunity and coinfection in free-ranging lions at Kruger National Park, South Africa. We captured a total of 97 lions from twenty distinct prides. Age, body condition and health were assessed for each individual. Our survey of potential coinfections includes viral pathogens, blood-borne parasites and gastrointestinal parasites. We performed total and differential leukocyte counts on all lions as a measure of constitutive innate (granulocytes) and adaptive (lymphocytes) immunity. For a subset of 35 lions, we assessed inducible innate immunity using an in vitro bactericidal assay, and inducible adaptive immunity via an in vitro lymphocyte proliferation assay. The current preliminary results represent an initial step in characterizing immunological and coinfection consequences of FIV infection in African lions.